Another Lfs Closing Near Me.

[wendywc]

It seems like as time goes by, there are less and less independent stores around and the big box/chain stores take over.

Over the past two years, these are the stores have closed near me.
- Neptune's Garden (Houston, on Fuqua Rd.) - closed 2007 ... but then bought by Megan two months later
- A & C Tropical Fish (Houston, on Edgebrook Dr.) - closed 2007
- Timo's Tropical Fish and Plants (Houston, on Telephone Rd.) - closed 2007
- Aquatic World (Houston, on Jones Rd. and 290) - closed January 2008
- Tropical Fish Depot (Houston, on Almeda Genoa Rd.) - closed July 2008
- Megan's Tropical Emporium (Houston, on Fuqua Rd.) - closing November 2008


Pretty depressing. Anyone else feeling the blues with stores closing around them?

 

[shelaghfishface]

its such a shame, but its like walking down the town centre these days no where is an independent fruit and vegatable shop to be found,the supermarkts have taken over,
theres a very small independent shop close to me and the man who owns it must be knocking 65+ he dosent carry a huge stock has about 10 x50 litre tanks,i was talking to him a while back and he said he was running at a loss but didnt want to give the shop up up because
1) he would get under his wifes feet at home
2) fishkeeping is a hobby of his and he loves the shop
broke my heart to hear him talk like this,you dont get the service that guys like this give from chain stores, " the personal touch"
and when he does finally retire or go bust (hope it will be the first) i will miss him dearly,i buy whatever i can from him, but of course being small there are some things he just cant afford to carry,and his fish are infact a lot cheaper than the large lfs here and i have never had a sick fish off him,nothing elaborate..danios,angels,cories,goldfish and neons, bread and butter fish as they are known,thers just no way he will be able to contend for much longer he has pets at home,Acorn,within 2 miles each side of him.
we demand progress and this is what we get,shame but such is life

shelagh xxx

 

[Nick16]

yeah, well when lfs do close down i want to buy some tanks becuase that way they dont 'bin' all their equipment and lose even more money. i have a family run lfs near me and they are superb.

 

[OldMan47]

I have a few LFS in my town that I would not miss if they closed. They feature high prices, poor advice and sick fish with very poor selection. The one that actually went broke recently was part of a large chain store. That store was a place that I refused to buy anything but hardware. The plants and fish were a threat to my tanks if I had brought any home. There is also a store in a nearby town thaat would be sorely missed if they went under. They are a bit high on hardware but their fish quality and selection are unmatched. The big chain stores cannot compete with them because they are well run and care about their fish and their customers. I drive an hour to get there about once a month just to walk around and see what they have in stock at the time. Their fish prices are higher than the big chains but are well worth the cost. The really good LFS in my town went out of business when the old man who owned it died and nobody in the family wanted to continue his business. That store would also not have any problem competing with the big chains. I never saw a sick fish for sale in his store, all fish were quarantined a month in the back room before being offered for sale. The back room was open to walk through but each tank had a date on it when those fish would come out of quarantine. If you had old equipment that needed repair, he always seemed to have the part you needed. This was a truly well run family business and is missed but not due to large chain competition.

 

[drobbyb]

It's the same here. All the privately owned stores are closing due to competition of chain stores like Petco and Petsmart.